On September 14, 1862, Robert E. Lee's opportunistic first invasion of the North was turned back at the gaps of South Mountain near Boonsboro, Maryland. The fighting was desperate and for the numbers engaged rather bloody. It has become just a footnote in history, but it was here that the Confederacy reached it's high tide.

South Mountain by Rick Reeve

South Mountain by Rick Reeve depicting the wounding of General Garland

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Report of Colonel Wainwright, 76th New York

Col. Wainwright

Colonel William D. Wainwright's 76th New York Infantry went into battle late in the day on September 14, 1862. When Brigadier General John Hatch (commanding the 1st Division, 1st Corps) was wounded, Wainwright was elevated to command of the brigade when Abner Doubleday took command of the division. Wainwright would be wounded during the battle. The following is his report written while he was recuperating in a field hospital at the base of the mountain.﻿

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﻿﻿MIDDLETOWN VALLEY, SHEFFER'S HOUSE,

Near Mount Tabor, September 16, 1862.

Captain E. P. HALSTEAD,

Assistant Adjutant-General, Doubleday's Division.

SIR: I have the honor to report, for the information of General Doubleday, that on the afternoon of the 14th instant, after the battalions had been moved up to the edge of the wood, the Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers passed through a line of troops under the command of General Patrick. The regiment formed with perfect steadiness on the extreme left. They were well in hand during the whole engagement, always obeyed the orders to fire and to cease firing readily, and although not many cartridges were expended, the repulse of an attempt to turn our left, which, in conjunction with the left wing of the Seventh Indiana Regiment, was brilliantly accomplished, and the orderly manner in which they afterward passed the line of troops coming up to relieve them, showed that they are fast becoming veteran soldiers.

I would again (as in a note sent yesterday afternoon by Surgeon Metcalfe) call the general's attention to the weakened state of the regiment. They went into action on this occasion with only forty files. Their loss was, so far as ascertained, 2 killed and 13 wounded-of the latter, 2 mortally. I doubt whether they can now furnish more than thirty files, commanded by four lieutenants, in any line of battle that may be called for at present.

In the above action First Lieutenants Crandall and Goddard and Second Lieutenants Byram and Foster were the only officers present under me. They all conducted themselves admirably. I think it was Lieutenant Goddard who first called my attention to the enemy stealing through the corn in order to gain our flank.

Sergeant Stamp, just promoted for good conduct in a former battle, was shot through the head while gallantly carrying the national colors.

﻿﻿ Owing to a wound in the arm received during the action, I am unable to join the regiment. First Lieutenant Crandall is next in command.

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. P. WAINWRIGHT,

Colonel Seventy-sixth Regiment New York Volunteers.

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Source:

The War of the Rebellion: a Compliation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: Volume 19, Part 1. 227-238.

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About Me

I am a student of the Civil War. I've had an interest in studying this conflict since I was ten and my passion for it has just grown ever since. I want to bring to life the stories of those men who fought and bled so that this nation could experience a "new birth of freedom". I am a former NPS intern at South Mountain State Battlefield and also a former Historical Intepreter at Fort Frederick State Park.